Locking device



Nnv. 18, v J. B. OCONNOR LOCKING DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 21, 1921 Patented New. 1%,1924.

entree stars tartan g. PATEN? ."QFFEF EQ JOHN B. ,OCONNOR, or AURORA, ILLINOIS, nssrenon To nYoN mnrnruo MANU- rncrunme comrnmz, or AURORA, rumors, A oonrom'rron or ILLINOIS.-

rkocmive nnvrcn.

Originar application filed November 21, 192;, Serial in. 516,568. Divided and this application files January 6, 1922.

To all whom it may conce'ww I Beit known that I, JOHNVB; QCONNOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aurora, in the county'of Kane and State of Illinois, have-invented a certain new and. useful Improvement in Looking Devices, of which the following is a specification.

. My invention relates to-locking devices for lockersand similar structures, and the general object is to provide means for automatically holding the locking elementin non-acting position when it is brought there by the controllingmechanism and automatically releasing it: as the door moves shut,

thus enabling the locking element to autofmatic'ally assume-acting .or looking position. In two copending applications, 'one for lockers, 'filed- September 26, 1921. Serial N o. I

508,185, (subsequently issued as Patent No.

1,438,547) and another for locking devices, filed November 21, 1921, Serial No. 516,568, of. which this present application is'a division, I have shown lockers having vertically movable locking bars. When the bar. is raised it unlocks the door. Unless provision beymade to the contrary, gravity will, of course, cause such a bar to descend as soon as it is released, and in the absence of cams or bevcls it is necessary to again raise the bar manually before it can be finally lowered into locking position. The general purpose of-my present invention is to provide means to avoid thisconscious manipulation of the locking bar and to avoid the use of cams and bevels, and tq provide means for holding the locking bar raised so long as the door is open and automatically release it as 'the door closes. More specifically, it is any purpose to provide adetent which projects from the inner surface of the door and thus is subjected to a straight-in push by thev door frame as the door closes. This renders the action more positive and less liable to-be affected by door warpage than if a cam action were depended upon.

illustrated inthe accompanying "drawings,

'inkwhich fr igure .1: is aagmentary' perspective showing the locking bar mounted upon the;

1mg bar are not herein claimed insaid application, Serial N by a ban Serial No. 527,355.

door and equipped with my automatic detent. .7 Associated with this figure is a'portion of a door frame -showing the manner in which the locking bar engages into certain eyes or loops formed in the door frame. The

' formation ofthese eyes or loops and the formation of the cooperating books on the lockclaimed, asthey are 503,185. Figure" 1. also shows at the upper portion means for lifting the bar, but these means are not herein claimed as they are claimed said application, Serial No. 516,56,8

Figure 2 is an assembly view showing the locker and door in cross section and show ing a side elevation of the locking bar and its associated parts.

' Figure 3 is a sectional elevation showing the automatic detent and its cooperating elements.

Y Like'numeralsdenote like parts throughout the several views.

In the design ilhistrated, the body 1 of the locker has a door frame 2 provided with an inturned flange 3 which forms a stop for limiting the inward movement of the door 6. The door has a marginal flange 7 and is hinged to the lockerin the ordinary manner. It is provided with a vertically movable locking bar 8 which is guided and held pin position by headed pins 9 which work in Thebar is raised and means of a lever 12 controlledslots 10 in the bar. lowered b le 13. The bar has down .turned hooks 14 which are adapted to be-lowered into loops or eyes 16 formed iii the door frame, the door having'apertures 17 for accommodating said loops when the door is closed. The parts thus far described are shown in the aforesaid applications and may be greatly varied so far as the present invention is concerned without departing from the spirit thereof. The important characv r -teristic is that the locking bar moves verti- I accomplish my object by the mechanism cally and tends to descend by gravity, or otherwise, to locking position.

tion:

too

1 assume locking position.

ing position.

The mechanism is shown in the lower portion of Figures 1, 2 and 3 and consists, according to the present" design, of a detent 20 in the form of a short strip-loosely pivoted at its upper end to a stationary pin 21 in the flange of the door. the lower end adapted to swing to a point beneath the locking bar to hold it raised. A spring '25 is carried by the detent and engages the door front in such manner as to constantly urge lug 2e toward the bar with the result that as soon as the bar is raised to unlocking position the lug will swing under the lower end of it and hold it raised as shown in Figure 1. When the detent is thus in acting position one corner of it (lower right of Figure 1) projects beyond the door flange, the result being that as the door closes the detent strikes the portion 3 of the door frame and is pushed back by it to'non-acting position shown in Figure 2. This permits the locking bar to drop to look- When the looking bar is down, thelowen end of it passes behind the lug 2e and thus holds it in non-acting position. The result is that the operator does not need to manipulate the handle 13 to lock the door, nor does he need to slam the door nor push it forcibly against the door frame, as is frequently the case where cams or beveled elements are relied upon for repulsing the locking element. Beveled latches are, of course, well known; but in those cases where they resume locking position as soon as the door is open, considerable force is frequently necessary in closing the door to first cause the door frame or strike plate to move the latch to non-acting position before it can again In my device, as soon as the latch is unlocked, itstays in that position until the door is again closed, whereupon it automatically reassumes locking'position. It will be noted, however, that the mechanism may be readily put in such in case, for any reason,

' door closes the condition that it will not lock automatically it may be desired to avoid such principle of operation. If the operator wishes to make it necessary to manipulate the handle before the lock .will again take effect all he has to do is to repulse the detent when the door is open, whereupon the locking bar will descend and hold the detent in non-acting position. The next time the lock is operated, however, the detent will reassulne its normal position. a 2

Another advantage of my construction lies in the fact that the detent projects from the inner surface of the door and is swingable in a' vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of the door. The result is that as the detent is subjected to a straight-in push (so' to speak) by the door frame in distinction to a cam-like push.

The advantage isthat the efiect of warping It has lug 24- in.

of the door or door practically so. if and engaged the edge of the door be resumed by would be neces' 1; for the door and ame to lit much moi. accurately than in an -ase where the'detent engages a stationary sur i'ace perpendicular to the path of the acting portion of the cam as the door approaches closed position.

Having thus described my invention what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. A door lock having a vertically slidable, gravity actuated, locking bar mounted on the door,

me to ion it it to non-acting posit biased toward the looking bar and adapted to underlie a portion of it for holding it raised, said detent being movable-in a plane at right angles to the plane of the door and when in acting position projecting from the door to engage and be repulsed by the door frame as the door closes.

2A door lock having a vertically slidable, gravity actuated, locking'bar mount ed on the door, and a detent pivot-ally connected to the door and being biased toward the locking bar and adapted to underlie and a detent pivotal-1y c.on-. nected to the door and said detent being a portion of it for holding it raised, said detent when in acting position projecting from the door to engage and be repulsed by the door frame as the door closes, the plane of movement vof the detent on vertical and at right angles the door.

' 3. A door lock havi g a vertically slidable, gravity actuated, locking bar mounted on the door, and'a detent pivoted to the door and arranged uprightly and swingable in a plane perpendicular to .the plane of the door for engaging and said detent projecting inward from the inner face of the door to be engaged by the to the plane of door frame as the door closes and thus be subjected to a straight-in push.

4:. A door lock having'a vertically sliddisengaging the bar,

the door being able, gravity actuated locking bar mounted on the door, manually operated means for lifting the bar to release it, and a detent pivotally connected to the door and suspended from its'upper end, said detent being biased towardthe locking bar and adapted to underlie a portion of it for holding it raised, said detent being swingable in a plane at right angles to the plane of the door,

and when in acting position projecting inward fromthe door in position to be engaged by the door frame as the door closes and thus be subjected to a straight-in push.

5. The combination with a door having a marginal flange at the free edge extending inward at right angles to the plane of the door,

a gravity actuated locking bar slidnbl y mounted upon the inner surface of said ner edge of the flange of the door whereby flange and movable in a Vertical direction, when the door closes in may engage the door 1 o and a detent supported upon saidfiangeand frame and be repulsed by it to release the movable in the direction of the flange, said locking bar, detent being biased toward the locking bar, In witness whereof, I hate hereunto suband adapted to underlie a portion of 1t for sor ibed my name.

holding it raised, said detent whenin aot-v A ing position projecting inward from the in JOHN B. OCONNOR. 

